Prehistory Vocabulary- Be able to identify the
following terms and spell them correctly
prehistory
historians
artifacts
anthropology
culture
archaeology
Law of Superposition
radiocarbon dating
fossil
australopithecine
hominid
Homo erectus
Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis
Homo sapiens sapiens
Paleolithic Age
nomad
Neolithic Revolution
technology
systematic agriculture
animism
domesticate
Ice Age
Bronze Age
civilization
society
surpluses
traditional economy
polytheism
artisans
pictographs
scribes
cultural diffusion
city-state
empire
monarch
A.D. and CE
B.C. and BCE
decade
century
millennium
Basic World Geography

Label the seven continents and four oceans. Be
able to spell the names correctly and always
capitalize proper nouns.

History v. Prehistory
Historians primarily study written
documents, using archaeological and
anthropological evidence to aid in creating
an accurate picture of past human actions.
The only way that researchers are able to
learn about humankind before the
invention of writing (prehistory) is by
studying artifacts and fossil remains.
Prehistory
Anthropology is a discipline that
encompasses the study of humankind
in relation to its origin, distribution,
classification, physical character,
environmental and social relationships,
and culture.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of the origins and
development of people and their societies.
(root word anthropos- Greek for human being)
society- a network of people who interact with one another.
There are two ways to study Anthropology:
1.
2.
Academic record
Applied research
4 subdisciplines of Anthropology:
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Physical Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Linguistics
Archaeology
Physical Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Linguistics


Linguistics is the study of language.
Languages distinguish humans from all
other animals.
Archaeology


Archaeology is the study of human and
material remains.
Different kinds of archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology Fieldwork
Why study archaeology?
1.
2.
It is the sole means by which the early
record of man can be understood.
It serves as a cross-reference to the
historical past.
Archaeological Dating Methods

Relative Dating

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Stratigraphy
Law of Superposition
Absolute Dating


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Radiocarbon Dating
Thurmoluminesence Dating
Amino Acid Racemization Dating
____________
Study Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Explain how historians might use evidence acquired through
archaeological research.
What is the crucial factor that distinguishes prehistory from
history?
What is a theory, and how do theories relate to anthropology
and archaeology?
Review the two methods of archaeological dating described
on p. 5 of your textbook. What is the difference between the
two methods? Provide an example of each method.
List the hominids discussed on pp. 9-10 in your textbook and
explain when and where they are thought to have existed.
For what purposes might Homo erectus have used fire?
Describe the technology of Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
All humans today belong to which species and subspecies of
the genus Homo?

Early Humans
 Australopithecus


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Homo habilis
Homo erectus
Homo sapiens
 Homo sapiens Neanderthalensis
 Homo sapiens sapiens

Archaeology: Shifts in Human Technology
 Stone Age
 Paleolithic
Age
 Mesolithic Age
 Neolithic Age
 Chalcolithic
 Bronze
Age
Age
 Iron Age
 Industrial Age
 Information Age
Last Ice Age c.100 kya – 10 kya
Study Questions
9.
What evidence suggests to some anthropologists that late
Paleolithic people believed in life after death?
10. Summarize the roles of men and women during the
Paleolithic Age.
11. What was the most significant development of the
Neolithic Age?
12. List some of the plants and animals that were
domesticated during the Neolithic Age. Why were they
domesticated? When and where were they domesticated
(provide specific examples)?
13. How did the social structure and material wealth of
societies change as people began to transition from a
nomadic lifestyle to living in settled communities?
14. What geographic feature did all of the earliest civilizations
have in common?
15. According to your textbook, what are the seven basic
features that define civilization? Refer to the chart on p.20
of your textbook.
16. By whom and for what purposes was writing used in the
earliest civilizations?
17. As you read pp.22-23 think about how civilizations change
over time. What are some of the factors behind this
change? Describe two of these factors.
18. Explain the difference between a city-state and an empire.
Neolithic Revolution
c. 8000 B.C.
Nomadic Hunting and Gathering to the
Domestication of Plants and Animals.

Plants?
Animals?
The emergence of systematic agriculture.
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Characteristics of the Neolithic
Revolution:
Was the quality of life better for everyone in
the early Neolithic farming villages?
What real impact did the Neolithic Revolution
have on humankind? What did it mean for
humans?
Systematic Agriculture in different
regions of the world:
Southwest Asia (Near East)
Southeast Asia and China
Central Africa
Mesoamerica (Mexico, and Central
and South America)
Early Neolithic Farming Villages


Jericho (8000 B.C., Palestine)- perhaps
the oldest continually occupied city on
Earth.
Catal Huyuk (6700-5700 B.C., southern
Turkey)
Obsidian Points from Catal Huyuk
Consequences of the Neolithic
Revolution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Technological Change
The introduction of metals to create tools
Copper (4000 B.C.)
Bronze (copper + tin)
Bronze Age (c.3000 B.C. – 700 B.C.)
Iron Age (c. 1200 B.C.)
Which of the metals listed above is the strongest?
By c. 4000 B.C., as a result of agricultural
surpluses, populations began to increase
significantly along the major river valleys
Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China
The effects of agriculture on population?
Year
10,000 B.C.
5,000 B.C.
3,000 B.C.
2,000 B.C.
1,000 B.C.
500 B.C.
Human Population
4 million
5 million
14 million
27 million
50 million
100 million
Civilization



1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Civilization- a complex, highly organized social
order
Culture- the way of life of a society, which is
handed down from one generation to the next
by learning and experience
Seven Basic Features of Civilization
organized governments
complex religions
job specialization
social classes
art and architecture
cities
writing (earliest form- keeping records)
Timeline



Read pp. 1146-1147 in textbook
B.C. (Before Christ) or B.C.E. (Before the Common Era)
A.D. anno Domini “In the Year of Our Lord” or C.E. (Common Era)
476 A.D.
1066 A.D.
632 A.D.
510 B.C.
326 B.C.
970 B.C.
Know the difference between the terms decade, century, and millennium.